This post was written in collaboration with James Wellbeloved grain-free dog food as part of their Puppy Training School campaign.
Crufts 2020 is on the horizon and although our rescue mutt Riker would never be allowed to enter, we still like to watch together; it’s once of my guilty pleasures.
I particularly like watching the agility bit, although faced with such well trained good boys it does make me rather ashamed at how little my own daft dog can do.
Training our pup
Riker was a stray pup who had already been adopted out and returned to the rescue centre several times, which should have been a bit of a warning sign but we’d fallen for him. By the time we had him as an older rescue puppy of maybe a year old, he was house trained (although we didn’t know this when we took him home!) and little else.
We stumbled into first-time dog ownership enthusiastically but a little blindly, and in hindsight we were really rather fortunate that it worked out as well as it did.
We picked our dog out and brought him home the very same day, however now that we have children it would be unlikely that we’d go down this route again.
Obviously when buying a puppy, you can be much more selective about the dog you are getting. Getting a puppy from a reputable breeder who will encourage early socialisation and make sure that, by the time your pup is ready to leave their mother and siblings (after at least 8 weeks of age, which gives them time to develop crucial social skills), they have got used to things like the TV, vacuum cleaner, doorbell, visitors and other pups.
Different dogs respond differently to training so your expectations need to adjust dependent on the breed.
As a lurcher, Riker is and always has been incredibly food motivated. He’ll learn a trick (such as sitting, giving his paw, opening cupboards…) easily enough when food is on offer, but recall is often a challenge, especially if he spots something on the horizon he wants to investigate.
My friend Sophie’s gorgeous Basset Hounds are stubborn and largely do as they please, so if you want a dog who will grab your slippers for you then a lab is probably more suited to your household.
Dawn said “I research the breed traits and try to work in those perimeters. Raoul was a nightmare puppy in the sense that he would shred everything and took ages to toilet train but I knew from having previous GSDs that he would work it out. He’s very much pack mentality so he’s figured out his role in the pack and he is now so well behaved”.
Socialisation
Socialising and training Riker was an important task; especially when we found out less than six months later that we were expecting a baby. Having an untrained dog in the house with a young family is just a terrible idea.
We took him to training classes so that he could meet other dogs, took him out and about to mix with different types of people, and walked him to the vets to ‘hang about’ and get him used to it. This did not work at all and he still hates the place and has to be dragged in, but experienced friends suggest taking young pups for regular weigh ins to get them used to the vets and also so the vet nurse can have puppy cuddles.
He still isn’t fantastic with every dog; he’s mainly just apathetic unless they really annoy him. A bit like me and other people really.
Moral of the story: Take treats everywhere.
After realising the error of our ways with a retractable lead (awful things!) we found fields which were secure enough to practise his recall, using positive reinforcement in the shape of small treats.
“Puppies are like toddlers” said my friend Lindsay, the owner of a very cute bulldog puppy (and three children) “There’s nothing that can’t be solved with a delicious snack. The better the snack, the greater the compliance”.
Obviously, you need to watch what you’re feeding your dog and don’t overdo it on the treats. Because lurchers are greedy so and sos, we used small pieces of kibble taken out of his daily allowance of dog food.
Feeding in general is something to take very seriously when training your new puppy; a good diet is a critical component of general wellness and therefore behaviour. When we got Riker from the rescue centre he was on a very cheap, bland kibble and after trying a few different diets, he seemed to do so much better when we switched to high quality, grain-free dog food which he has thrived on for the past seven and a half years.
Setting boundaries from the start
One thing I’ve learned is that it’s incredibly hard to change your mind once your dog has got used to something. Getting Riker out of our bedroom when my oldest came along was a challenge and something that could so easily have been avoided by setting stricter boundaries from the offset. Oops.
Getting him off the furniture… well. I think that’s unlikely to happen to be honest.
My friend Danz, who is a font of knowledge on all things dog, said: “Puppies needs consistency and boundaries set and kept to. Don’t want 45kg of German Shepherd snuggled up to you in bed for the next 14 years? Then don’t let 2kg of puppy in you bed in the first week. Consistency is applicable to the whole household too. Everyone needs to discuss how the puppy will be raised and everyone must stick too it”.
Where was she 7.5 years ago?!
Toilet training
Much like parenting toddlers, toilet training is by all accounts great fun, and something I’m definitely very sad to have missed out on. Or not. But I thought that this was worthy of inclusion anyway, as it makes so much sense.
My expert friend Danz said “Get a puppy in the summer. Then toilet training in three concurrent weeks of storms and flooding and high winds is avoided”.
This is, incidentally, exactly the same advice I’d give anyone trying to potty train their toddler. Everything is easier in the summer!
Lauren added “Do not use puppy pads! You’re making double the work for yourself. It’s much easier to just take pup outside regularly”.
If you only remember one thing…
The crucial thing that I have learned throughout my years of dog ownership is to ignore mistakes and reward correct behaviour, no matter how annoying it is.
Your dog will not connect you shouting at them with the fact that they weed on your bed or emptied the bin two hours ago so shouting and punishments are pointless. Again, much like small kids.
Top tip: If I need to shout at someone, I take my anger out on the robot vacuum cleaner.
Note: A huge thank you to the members of Pimty Pets who contributed their experiences and pictures to this post!
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